


like a coin towards the ocean’s floor

by fueledbyfiction



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Gen, M/M, Post-Canon, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Twinyard Appreciation Week 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 21:21:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21308797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fueledbyfiction/pseuds/fueledbyfiction
Summary: A lazy birthday morning for the twins reveals that they are more similar than they’d probably like to admit.
Relationships: Aaron Minyard & Andrew Minyard, Katelyn/Aaron Minyard, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 10
Kudos: 222





	like a coin towards the ocean’s floor

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this is too soft for them.  
Listened to [ this ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5djuAAaDIhec22ICbWDxtU) while I wrote it.  
Title is from [A Quiet Poem](https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-quiet-poem/) by Frank O'Hara.

Andrew woke up to the gentle tapping of rain on the window above his head. He left his eyes closed and savored the peace of the moment. After a stretch of silence, he inhaled deeply and let his eyes flicker open. Immediately, subconsciously, he looked to Neil. Just to make sure nothing had happened to him, to make sure this life hadn’t all been a dream. But he found Neil where he always did, a steady presence at his side. 

He didn’t know how long he waited for Neil to slowly blink his eyes open, like the drip of the faucet in their bathroom. Blink, blink, blink, and then a pause. Andrew took a moment to admit to himself how beautiful Neil was, with the muted light playing off his cheekbones just right, his hair tousled from sleep and Andrew’s fingers the night before. 

Neil opened his mouth, just barely, and whispered, “Drew.”

Andrew didn’t respond. Neil didn’t mind. He never did. 

“Can I kiss you?” 

And Neil looked so perfect, laying there, perfectly patient and understanding, and Andrew loved him so much, even if he didn’t say it out loud, that Andrew replied, “Yes.”

The kiss was chaste and soft. Neil’s hand came up to brush against Andrew’s jaw, making him shiver just the slightest bit. Neil didn’t linger. He pulled away and flopped onto his back dramatically.

“Well, shit, I’m a horrible husband.”

Andrew sent him a questioning look.

“I was going to get up before you and cook you a spectacularly unhealthy birthday breakfast,” Neil said, but he didn’t sound particularly remorseful about sleeping in. Andrew raised a hand to flick Neil’s shoulder.

“Idiot. You don’t have to be up first to cook breakfast, you know.”

Neil laughed. It was a clear, cutting sound that had started to become much more frequent in the past couple years. It was the laugh of someone who loved life for all it offered.

They were both sticky with sleep and reluctant to leave behind the warm tangle of blankets, but they made their way into the kitchen, acquiring pants and hoodies and fuzzy socks along the way. Neil flipped switches and rummaged in cabinets to get all the appliances up and working, and soon the kitchen was abuzz with whirring and frying and beeping. Andrew sat at the counter and watched it happen. Watched the way the lights glinted off Neil’s wedding band as he flipped a sizzling pancake, the way Neil’s tongue stuck out a little bit in concentration when he swirled the whipped cream onto Andrew’s mug of coffee, the way he chopped the strawberries into perfect, even slices. He knew this couldn’t be real, but he also knew that it was.

Neil poured the cat food into the painted bowls that they had made at the ceramics class they had taken earlier in the month, and one of the demons came flying into the room. Sir, who had always been the more graceful of the two, came in at a more reasonable pace and stopped to let Neil pet her as he walked by. 

Neither of them forced a conversation as they ate, but it was comfortable, normal. When they were finished, Neil took all the dishes to the sink, humming a song that often played over the speakers at practice as he went. Andrew decided it was time for him to go back upstairs. Maybe he could take a bubble bath. It was his birthday, after all. He deserved to indulge. 

As he walked out of the kitchen, Neil said, “Call your brother.”

He wasn’t demanding. Andrew knew what he meant.

\----

Aaron woke up to kisses on the back of his neck and soft music, grainy, as if played over a phone’s speakers. Katelyn’s arms were wrapped around him, familiar and grounding. She had clearly been up for a while. She had her contacts in and her hair was damp from a shower. 

Aaron flipped over to face her properly and allowed himself a couple seconds to memorize her face like this. She was perfect. Shrouded in sunlight and gazing at her with love in her eyes. He didn’t understand how she was possible, but he wanted to give her the world.

“Good morning,” Katelyn said, voice hushed like a forest after heavy snow. 

“Good morning,” he replied and leaned over to kiss her. 

It was a horrible kiss because they were both smiling too much to do much more than brush lips, but Aaron didn’t care. He had half a mind to deepen the kiss, make it go somewhere, but Katelyn pulled back. 

“I made you breakfast.”

If he had tried, Aaron didn’t think he would have been able to stop the “I love you” from spilling out of his mouth. He really did. She was really too good for him. 

They made their way down to the main floor slowly. Every step had them stopping to meet in lazy kisses and sappily hold hands. Gradually, Aaron acquired all the things he needed to get there, from his plaid grandpa slippers to his glasses, which had become more essential to him as he got older. 

Their breakfast was waiting for him on the coffee table in the living room. As he took in the spread of omelets, toast, and fresh fruit, he thought about how glad he was that he had married this gorgeous woman. He ate everything on his plate, then reclined on the couch and pulled Katelyn close to his chest. They talked about everything and nothing, wasting the morning away in perfect domestic bliss. 

Aaron got up a while later, heading to the bathroom to take a shower while Katelyn put their plates in the dishwasher. 

Right before they parted, Katelyn pecked him on the forehead and said, “Hey, you should call your brother.”

She wasn’t forcing him to do anything, and Aaron knew what she meant. 

\---

When Aaron found his phone and looked at it, he found there was already a missed call from Andrew, a little red bubble that showed that maybe Andrew cared more than he let on. Aaron clicked on his brother’s name and listened to the phone ring. When Andrew picked up, Aaron said “hi” first, knowing Andrew might just sit there in silence if he didn’t.

He waited for a second, then his twin’s voice crackled across the line, “Hi.”

“Happy birthday and stuff,” Aaron said.

“Yeah, you too.”

There was a brief moment of silence, then some kind of commotion in the background on Andrew’s end. Andrew sighed.

“What happened?” Aaron asked.

“Neil is trying to bake me a cake. He’s getting flour all over the place.”

“Oh, yeah. What flavor?”

“German chocolate.”

Aaron paused, then said, “That’s what Katelyn made me.”

Andrew didn’t respond. Aaron didn’t know what else to say so he just said, “Well, bye, I guess.”

“Bye.”

Then Andrew hung up the phone, presumably to go deal with whatever shenanigans Neil was causing. 

Aaron set his phone down and allowed himself a moment to smile at the thought of his brother, halfway across the country, and separated by more than just distance, but undeniably there. They were a matching set, and Aaron was glad they had found one another. He knew Andrew felt the same way despite everything.


End file.
